Supreme Court sides with Chicago museum in terror case
The Supreme Court is preventing survivors of a 1997 terrorist attack from seizing Persian artifacts at a Chicago museum to help pay a $71.5 million default judgment against Iran.
Court opinions
Articles
Dodd-Frank whistleblower protection narrow, justices rule
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that whistleblower protections passed by Congress after the 2008 financial crisis only apply to people who report problems to the government, not more broadly.
Indiana Court decisions – Feb. 1-14, 2018
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the latest reporting period.
Supreme Court upholds LWOP for execution-style murder
A southern Indiana man convicted of murder in the shooting death of a man at a power plant will spend the rest of his life in prison after the Indiana Supreme Court upheld his sentence of life without parole.
Appellate court upholds attorney fees in CAFO dispute
An Indiana trial court properly awarded attorney fees to two livestock organizations that consulted on the construction of a Hendricks County feeding operation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in an opinion that also found the subpoenas issued to the organizations were overly broad.
COA upholds summary judgment to Tipton Schools
A central Indiana school corporation was properly granted summary judgment on a parent’s negligence claims, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday, determining the corporation was immune under the Indiana Tort Claims Act.
COA upholds adoption without mother’s consent
In a case a judge said represents “how substance abuse is savaging the familial bonds within Indiana and around the country,” the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the adoption of a southern Indiana child without the mother’s consent after finding the mother’s substance abuse made her unfit.
COA upholds Kentucky man’s conviction for killing Indiana teen
A Kentucky man convicted in the shooting death of an Indiana teen lost his appeal of his murder conviction after the Indiana Court of Appeals found sufficient, properly obtained evidence to support his conviction.
COA affirms reversal of juvenile firearm adjudication
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld its decision to dismiss a firearm-related adjudication against a juvenile after granting the state’s petition for rehearing to address what the court called a fundamental misunderstanding of its original decision.
Indiana Court Decisions — Jan. 17-31, 2018
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the latest reporting period.
COA reverses judgment for Penske dealer, rules for buyer
A Maryland man who sued an Indianapolis auto dealer for fraud successfully overturned the grant of summary judgment in favor of the dealer, with the Indiana Court of Appeals instead ordering summary judgment for the man on Thursday.
Mother’s 40-year sentence for molesting son upheld
A Tippecanoe County mother who pleaded guilty to molesting her infant son will serve out her 40-year sentence after the Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer to her case and affirmed her sentence Wednesday.
Threats enough for COA to uphold intimidation conviction
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a felony intimidation conviction against a man who threatened to cut his ex-girlfriend’s throat, finding evidence of the man’s subsequent bad acts was admissible.
Religious camp loses appeal against Rush County CAFO
A Rush County religious camp has lost its appeal of the grant of a confined animal feeding operation to a local farm after the Indiana Court of Appeals found the Rush County Board of Zoning Appeals did not err in approving the CAFO.
Convictions upheld in Imperial securities fraud scheme
An Indiana businessman convicted in a securities fraud scheme lost his federal appeal after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined there was sufficient evidence to prove he had at least some knowledge of the ongoing fraud.
COA affirms escape conviction in home detention case
A person’s home is considered a “place of lawful detention” if the person has been sentenced to home detention, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday in a decision that upheld a woman’s felony escape conviction.
Divided COA again allows sentence modification in fixed-sentence agreement
A divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals has ordered a trial court to reconsider a sentence modification for an offender who agreed to a fixed-sentence plea agreement, a ruling that goes against proposed legislation currently pending before an Indiana Senate committee. However, in his first writing as an appellate senior judge, former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Robert Rucker dissented from the majority ruling.
Divided COA upholds absentee juvenile delinquent adjudications
A divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld additional delinquency adjudications and findings of probation violations against a Lawrence County teen after determining the teen was in procedural default when he failed to appear for his fact-finding hearings. Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik, however, dissented on statutory grounds.
7th Circuit reverses death sentence for murderer Baer
Despite the “atrocious” nature of a murderer’s crimes, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed his death sentence in a habeas petition, finding prosecutorial misconduct and misleading jury instructions likely influenced the jury’s decision to sentence him to death.
Opinions Jan. 9, 2017
Indiana Court of Appeals
Robert Wilder v. State of Indiana
49A02-1706-CR-1420
Criminal. Affirms Robert Wilder’s conviction of battery resulting in bodily injury as a Class A misdemeanor and the term of his probation that prohibits him from possessing a firearm. Finds the Marion Superior Court did not commit fundamental error by failing to sua sponte exclude Det. Kevin Duley’s testimony under Rule of Evidence 704(b) because Wilder “opened the door” to that testimony. Also finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it imposed the probation condition because the condition does not violate the Second Amendment or Article 1, Section 32 of the Indiana constitution.